Monsoon Journal

Samy Appadurai It was a very lovely and pleas- ant evening at the Valentine’s Day dinner party. It was organized by my friends in honor of my media services and held at a beautiful restaurant called Chucky Tomatoes around the corner of Woodbine and Steeles Avenue just north of the city of Toronto. Around twenty of us were in one of the party rooms that was located beside the colorfully dis- played variety of foods, the sight of which would not allow you to stop the flowing of saliva from your mouth and your eyes from growing larger from the specta- cle. We were inside the waiting area for a while until at least half of our guests arrived so we could be seated at our reserved area. I noticed that the restaurant was fully packed with not only young- sters, but guests from all ages and social backgrounds filled all the available seats.

While wait- ing, most of the guests were keenly watching the Winter Olympic Games on a 42 inch wide television. I noticed that there was a remark passed by a gentle- man about the negative com- ments made by some of the British and American media on the winter Olympics 2010 held on our soil. In fact, I had already condemned the negative attitudes held by the foreign media on my television show and in news com- mentaries on Tamil One Television. I could not contain myself and joined these gentle- men with whom I never had any contact before in their happiness and our patriotic feelings of Canada brought us together as though we were members of the same family.

We shared our opin- ions very objectively. A few days later on the 18th February 2010, I had gone through an article enti- tled “Shut Up and Enjoy the Games” along with the accompa- nying editorial in the Toronto Star. I was very pleased and happy about it. It is our moral obligation at a time when the unique coun- try and legacy that our forefa- thers left behind for us to be patriotic and supportive even when the emphasis in the interna- tional media stage is negative. We should not allow foreign media to spoil this beautiful coun- try with their words. However, I do not disagree with some of the comments.

Indeed there are areas where we could have done a little better than what it was. But due to the circumstances we were in, the nature of the winter Olympics and some other factors might have contributed to the arrangements. Some of the comments made by the foreign media were that Canada could have done much better in terms of organization compared to the previous 2 Olympic Games in Montreal in 1986 and Calgary in 1988. But I do not see any justifiable reason to compare apart from expressing personal opinions. Let us take a closer look at some of the opinions presented by those media outlets:

1. The Games were not well organized and the opening cere- mony was not done very well. 2. The accidental death of the Luger from Georgia could have been avoided and that wrong steps were taken in the after- math. 3. The inadequate arrange- ments made for training the for- eign athletes 4. Our home work was not done on the publicity front, and as a result we had only a few thousand instead of one hundred thousand views. 5. Overall it was the worst Olympics that we have ever had. 6. The complaint was made by some Quebecers that the French language was not given due place in the opening ceremony. 7. Some First Nations leaders took this as another opportunity to express their long standing grievances by saying that the Winter Olympics was going to take place on stolen land.

I do not want to go into each and every complaint but I wish to call your attention to what the International Olympic Committee who is in charge of the planning, operating and overseeing the entire program said about the Games. In their humble opinion, the 2010 Olympics were well organized and that there was nothing much to worry about. However, we must all take into consideration that the coopera- tion we got from nature was not very helpful and we expected more snow, not rain. That being said however, the weather is still one thing that is beyond our con- trol. I would like to go behind the presentation of these comments and flesh out some of the hidden motives behind them. The Canadian security and border offi- cials denied entry visas for two critical reporters from United States of America.

These inci- dents might have contributed to the negative comments as well as promoting the idea that criticizing the Games was not allowed. This idea is false because in some Canadian newspapers, there were many pieces critical of the games that were published. As far as the Canadian public is concerned, the winter Olympic games are prima- rily a sporting event, not an event that has a hidden agenda in terms of exploiting a given issue. Let us now examine the other factors that may have prompted some of the world’s critics to arrive at such unattractive com- ments about Canada. The recent report that the image of Canada in the international world scene has diminished compared to the past.

The primary reason given is that Canada has not committed sufficient resources for protec- tive measures pertaining to global warming and the human right violations by the Afghanistan government to the detainees who were handed over to them by the Canadian Armed Forces, and the recent independent moves on international issues where the USA has played a vital role is not very pleasing to other western nations, particularly the United States . For example, the Canadian Prime minister announced the decision unilater- ally on the withdrawal of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in mid 2011. This decision would not have pleased some on the world stage and in some cases it would have antagonized them.

The victories of the Olympics for Canada are many; the first of which I point out is that Canada won more gold medals (8 to be exact) than any other host coun- try in the history of the winter Olympic games. Also, whenever there were some negative and inappropriate criticisms in some of the international media, strong patriotic feelings and sentiments aroused many Canadians and this is another victory for us. On the international level, the image of Canada has been well represent- ed and painted with the right col- ors and Canada has been placed as a role model to most of the developed and potentially devel- oping nations. Though it has not been part of the games, efforts that have been achieved by gov- ernment and the strength of the Canadian economy have paved the way for a respectful and heavy presence in the upcoming G20 and G8 summit in Ontario Canada scheduled to take place in the summer.

The security and other preparations have been going very well. This is a very beautiful time for Canada because the two summits will be hosted within the same year, so this is our time to shine. Canada has been in a reces- sion but is now showing early signs of recovery. Our financial policies, the guidance of the gov- ernment, the Bank of Canada and its institutions are and were in a very sound position, even at the initial stage of the recession when almost all of the developed nations were in a very shaky posi- tion, including our neighbor in the south. Compared to Europe and the United States, we have fared well. The test of security passed with fine marks and could have achieved excellence, if not for some remote incidents that occurred during the Olympics in Vancouver.

Though there are no guarantees at any Olympic Games that terrorists might not try to cause problems, still the efforts made are remarkable. In this case the Olympic organizers spent almost a billion dollars. Maybe such a huge amount of money is not required come this summer. Venue wise Toronto is more con- venient but security wise it is more complex, due to the reason that it is populated with new immigrants who have migrated from over 170 nations, around the world. The penetration of negative forces in Canada has been watched and monitored by the mighty nations of the globe even before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States of America. It is not only a question of immigration and security of the lives of local Canadians; rather it is a global concern; Canadian foreign policy is liberal and impartial, not 90 degrees inclined with any super power. Even today we have not earned the enmity from any nation, race, religious group or ethnicity.

However it is unavoid- able to be allied with other nations and that may cause some discomfort and challenges for national security. For example, there was a time when supplying crude oil sand to the States made us a potential terrorist target. At this critical time, other than a political party that has been backed by trade unions, the polit- ical forces in this country is more or less inclined in one direction. I do appreciate the politicians who, despite their differences in many local policies and their bitter fights in parliament and outside, give top most priority to national security and back up necessary actions to prevent any negativity that can arise. There is some crit- icism on the handing over of the detainees by the Canadian forces to the Afghanistan government that tortured them unduly and inhumanly and Canada should have conducted operations in a different manner. We should also acknowledge that Canada had not joined as a member nation in the American joint force in the war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan from the beginning of Mr. Chretien’s, Mr. Paul Martin’s or Mr. Harper’s leadership. As a nation, we have always acted out of our accord.

Canada has always condemned human rights viola- tions in any part of the world, even at the cost of creating a sit- uation where it may earn us some economic losses. There are some global issues that may crop up at this time in the form of demonstrations or media coverage. Take for example global warming. At the Copenhagen summit all these nations proclaimed their commit- ments very seriously but in terms of actions they have done nothing tangible. Another issue is human rights. Many aspects regarding human rights violations such as our participation or not are bound to come up. Our support of poor developing countries, the side effects of the war in Afghanistan, these are bound to come up as wel. There might also be some local issues mentioned but noth- ing serious that can be expected.

It is a golden opportunity for Canada to capitalize on these summits in multi dimensional ways. Canada has earned a very high reputation over the years of many sacrifices and its unique qualities and we have not over reacted or have been partially inclined with certain international states. This needs to be made clear to the current leaders around the world and we will rein- force their political and economic plans due to our solid reputation. Canada has abundance in valuable minerals including the second largest crude oil deposit, uranium, gold, and diamonds and so on.

It is the best time to engage in marketing. The Canadian gov- ernment is also making some smart moves in investing with countries such as India, China, the potential world powers in the east and South American coun- tries. But to some extent, the changes are somewhat limited in Europe due to the 27 member European Union which is a superb economic grouping with investments and trade to non member states. Canada in terms of immigra- tion is quite literally the world in one country. The Canadian natu- ral increase in population is declining and the rate of increase in seniors has gone up pretty high and the gap between the two has to be bridged by the immigrants. It appears that Canada is very much interested in hiring more skilled workers, so that they can easily fill up the vacancies, if not instantly, in the near future. We can make use of this opportunity even though it may not be a part of the agenda but this point can be made in many other ways. In this matter Toronto is the most appropriate venue than any other part of the country. However the cooperation from the opposition parties is highly required at this junction.

The Liberal party leader recently indicated very clearly that he would not vote against the budg- et, because he is not interested in bringing down the Harper govern- ment and because Canadians are not favor of an election. He had learned a bitter lesson when he brought in the no confidence motion last year and after the defeat, the reaction from Canadians. I would prefer even if the time was ripe for an election that in the best interest of the nation let them help this govern- ment continue for a while and earn some goodies for Canada where they are the active part- ners. I would not want to over emphasis these summits and other international conferences that are going to be held in Canada, like some other develop- ing nations who take such oppor- tunities as a wonderful time to paint a colorful picture of their nation to world leaders. But Canada needs better and stronger foreign markets for exports and investment venues. Although America is a strong trade partner, after I predicted even before the U.S Presidential election, that Obama’s economic protectionist policy is harmful to us.

It has been exhibited by the recent moves that Obama’s administra- tion and he himself has taken on global and Canadian trade mat- ters. The recent moves coupled with George W. Bush on their interest in the economy, global politics and the way they reacted certainly alarmed Canada that they acted in a way that comforts them. Why we should rethink our relationship with them and act accordingly does not mean that we are taking a different road completely, but we are slightly deviated from the traditional path in accordance with the current global changes and the best inter- ests of our nation. In conclusion, we have gained a smart and unique status around globe. Let’s keep it up and work not only hard but wisely so that we can still maintain it and climb up to the top. Oh Canada win Canada! Samy Appadurai is a renowned broadcast journal- ist, author, educator and pub- lic speaker who makes his home in Toronto.

By: Ellakiya Sivapalan, BA (Hons.) Political Science The hearing for the human rights case of Loomba vs. The Home Depot continued at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario at 655 Bay Street late last month. This case has been under much media scrutiny since the hearing began in January of this year - mainly because it touches on the sensitive issues of religious rights and accommodation. Mr. Deepinder Loomba, the complainant in this case, argues he was discriminated by his employer, three years ago, on the basis of religion. Mr. Loomba, a 50 year old Sikh man, was working as a security guard at the Home Depot Milton store on December 6, 2005, when he alleges, Mr. Brian Busch, the Assistant Store Manager, asked him to replace his turban with a hard hat. Mr. Loomba is seeking $40,000 in damages. The hearing in August was the last of the first stage of this proceeding. Hearing began in January, continued in May and final arguments were heard on August 24 and 25. While it took three years for the Tribunal to hear this case, Mr. Loomba and his lawyer Raj Anand are hopeful of the outcome. They strongly feel this case has merit. At the August hearing, Mr. Busch took the stand to give his testimony of the events that took place three years ago. On December 6, 2005, Mr. Loomba was stationed as a guard at the security front desk of the Milton store, which was under construction at that time. As the Assistant Store Manager, it was Mr. Busch’s responsibility to ensure all individuals and employees entering the construction site wore a hard hat and safety shoes. Mr. Busch approached Mr. Loomba on that day and asked him to put on a hard hat. Mr. Loomba informed him of his turban. Mr. Busch then asked him if he could wear an alternative head dress that would be suitable under a hard hat. Mr. Loomba advised him that he was unable to do that and asked to wear the hard hat over his turban but Mr. Busch refused saying it would fall off. Earlier in his testimony, Mr. Loomba argued that he was humiliated and ridiculed by the manager and other workers for refusing to replace his turban with the hard hat. Mr. Loomba also alleged the manager threatened his employment if he did not wear the protective gear and referred to his turban as “that piece of cloth”, which Mr. Busch strongly denies. He told the Tribunal that his hair has been unshorn since birth and that the only time he removes his turban is when he sleeps or bathes. As a Sikh, Mr. Loomba is not supposed to cut or expose his hair in public. In the Sikh religion, hair is considered sacred and a gift from God. What makes this case intriguing and complicated is the employer’s duty to accommodate religious rights of the employees and at the same time comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It is a clash of the two Acts - the Ontario Human Rights Code and the OHSA. It is an issue of whether rights trump law or vice versa. Was Home Depot able to accommodate Mr. Loomba in anyway if he was unable to wear a hard hat at that particular site? Mr. Loomba argued earlier that he was neither told by Home Depot nor Reilly Security Services that he would be required to wear a hard hat upon being hired. Mr. Busch argues that there was nothing else he or Home Dept could do to accommodate Mr. Loomba. It was not possible to have him relocated to a site outside the hard hat area where his security duties could have been performed. He claims the Milton store was entirely a construction site. Mr. Loomba was a direct employee of Reilly Security Services Agency who was stationed at the Milton store as a security guard. Mr. Busch claims it was Reilly’s responsibility to move Mr. Loomba to another site but neither Mr. Loomba nor Reilly Security Services gave any suggestions on how to resolve the situation. The question that remains to be answered before the Tribunal is how far Home Depot could go to accommodate Mr. Loomba if he is not a direct employee? The counsel for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Mr. Anthony Griffin, agrees the respondent will experience undue hardship if it is in breach of the OHSA but argues that Home Depot can accommodate Mr. Loomba in a way that will not lead to the breach of the Act. The employer has the duty to accommodate when there is an issue of discrimination. In this case, it is Home Depot that is accused of discrimination against Mr. Loomba and not Reilly Security Services. This is not the first of the headcover disputes in Canadian legal history. In the early 1990s, Avtar Singh Dhillon was refused a motorcycle license for unwilling to remove his turban for the helmet. He filed a discrimination case in British Columbia. In 1991, Baltej Singh Dhillon was the first RCMP officer allowed to wear a turban and keep his beard after a long battle with the federal government. In 2001, Gurcharan Dran refused to wear a helmet at a ride in Canada’s Paramount Wonderland. He brought a human rights case against Wonderland and the two parties settled. The first stage of Mr. Loomba’s hearing was completed in August. The second stage will likely begin soon with the intervention of the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The MOL will take intervener status to discuss the interaction between the Code and the OHSA

Samy Appadurai The return of the men in uniform, particularly the lower ranking army and navy men to the remote villages in the southern Singhalese areas of Sri Lanka where they were born and raised in poor families brought a sigh of relief to their spouses and immediate family members. They could not believe that their loved ones were still alive and safe from the war against the Tamil youth in the north. Ever since they were deployed, the monthly wages had been deposited in their bank accounts regularly and no special or disappointing messages were delivered. Of course such bad news would not be delivered when mass number of soldiers were in battle. There was a strong conviction amongst the relatives of those soldiers that they were alive and assumed that their loved ones were safely engaged in the battle. The Sri Lankan government like any other governments that engage in war rarely disclose the actual number of deaths on their side and exaggerate that of the enemy. This is what has been going on in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well. An iron curtain of sorts has fallen on the country and censorship towards the international independent media has made the image of this war blurry to the outside world. At the tail end of the war the engagement of starlight monitoring and capturing of photos of the war zone has brought some vague pictures and we have been able to compile an estimate of the casualties, arms and ammunitions that were captured though again it is still not very clear. The mass scale of recruitment in the rural areas sent insufficiently trained soldiers into the field with nothing more than hope. They soon realized that they had been somewhat blindfolded and their hope of surviving was questionable. Some realized their fate and wanted to get out, but when they thought of the consequences that they would certainly face, they decided to remain. The top officers in the security services had many opportunities in aboard to be well trained with modern war equipment and were instructed on war strategies as well. It is believed that even after the intensive training; some experts from foreign countries were personally present in the battlefield and provided guidance. It elevated the morale of the high ranking officers and gave them extra courage in discharging their duties. May 2009 marked the beginning of the so called post war period and many faces have graced the Sri Lankan political stage as new actors, directors and producers. The high ranking army and navy officers and commanders have gone beyond their official boundaries and are interfering in the political drama which has alarmed the politicians and the religious leaders who have been the directors of this drama behind the scene for a long time. Recently, some of the particularly lower ranking religious leaders have been performing as supporting actors in the drama. Sometimes religious leaders have been playing dual roles as directors and supporting actors and we have to wait and see what the next role may be in the future. It is crystal clear that the heroes who do not follow the directions or do not listen to them or ignore their suggestions could be punished severely and this has already happened. Some time back when a powerful leader who came to power with their support and blessing, later on deviated, his actions based on his own convictions had to face bitter consequences and it brought to the end not only his political career, but also his life. They have a constant powerful voice in the Sri Lankan political drama and it can be reduced by a smaller degree but not substantially. The history of Sri Lanka of the middle period proves that they are the king makers and disposers. They have a self proclaimed vision in their mind that Sri Lanka is the chosen holy land and the Buddhist Singhalese are the chosen people to establish and spread Buddhism and its traditions around the world and therefore it is their moral obligation to wipe out anyone with equal claims in any part of the country. Any other religious faith would not be tolerated in sharing equal status, even the Hindu faith. Siddhartha Gautama, Lord Buddha perfectly embodied the essence of Hindu philosophy. In fact Lord Buddha never advocated for a new religion and never expected people to worship him as god and he did not claim to be the son of god. One of the fundamental features of Buddhism is tolerance. The Buddha also preached the doctrine of “Ahimsa” or non-violence, which seems to have been forgotten. In line with these convictions one of the former presidents of Sri Lanka once said that in Sri Lanka, the Singhalese are the trees and the minorities are the climbers on the trees. They (the minorities) cannot ever be a tree. The third power sharing force is the political parties. Though there appears to be a multi party system working in Sri Lanka, the United National Party a party more inclined towards free enterprise and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party which leans more towards socialist ideology and has roots in the rural areas of the country are the main parties which dominate the political scene. The system of government of Sri Lanka is a so called democratic government. It had been shifted from a parliamentary democracy to the presidential system. The president is elected by the popular voters directly and can remain in the post for a maximum of two terms like the United States. According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the only people who can run for the office of the president of Sri Lanka must be a Singhalese by ethnicity and Buddhist by religious faith. The parliament has the legislative power and the leader, the Prime Minister is the leader of the political party that has the highest number of members in parliament. The third organ of the government, the judiciary system is supposed to act independently, without any direct or indirect interference from the politicians however, I do not wish to elaborate further in this regard. The last but not the least is the force of the minorities. The minority forces are accumulated in two camps, such as the ones who accept the Sri Lankan constitution and work with the political system of government. Their activities are bound by the constitution of Sri Lanka. The second group operates mainly with the intent of regaining their rights by other means. They have proclaimed themselves as freedom fighters while the government addresses them as terrorists and they do have some power in Sri Lankan politics, even in the presidential elections. By disenfranchising the voting rights of the Tamils who were the descendants of indentured workers brought by the former British colonial rulers from Southern India, a portion of them were repatriated to India by the Sri Lankan government. It has been considered by the Tamils both in India and Sri Lanka that the move was taken primarily to reduce the power and position of Tamils in Sri Lankan politics. Though the Sri Lankan government claims that the armed struggle of the Tamils was almost completely wiped out and that the war is now over, the army claims that the war is not over and there are elements of the terrorists that have survived and it may take more time to eradicate these cells, and if not done carefully, the situation may turn back to square one. I do not think it is a mere guess, rather there is a heavy weight on those saying these words and exposing such threats will make their position elevated and more important . The people of Sri Lanka, the religious leaders and the politicians should not overestimate their importance and leave them aside and share power amongst them. The officials of the forces have tasted a bit of power and got motivated if not intoxicated by it and want more power in the political drama. They feel that they have suffered, worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices and they deserve more recognition and power. There is another tactic that the politicians in power use to keep their power within themselves and allowing others to demand for bigger and better pieces of the pie. Recently a suggestion was made by the executive department to offer high diplomatic posts to the senior ranking officials in the army and send them abroad and allow them to enjoy their new prestigious positions so that their powerful voice, suggestions and demands would not be a growing threat to the government. This is but a temporary measure. If Sri Lanka had to fight against the British Empire and in the fight for independence they would have acquired the experience of war. But this was not the case and now they think that they could gain more political power and a better say in policy making, a better salary and working conditions. The next political force comes from a non believer of the western democratic system of government. They believe in proletariat dictatorship of government, based on Marxist philosophy. They are popularly known as Che Guevara. They attempted to capture the power by a coup d’états. They failed and were crushed by the government. They have come back as another supporting actor in the Sri Lankan political drama. I do not know whether or not how far they have given up their revolutionary method of grabbing power. If a favorable situation should arise, they would not mind reactivating their methods of maneuvering politics. The current power struggle is acquiring a different shape and it has to meet the multi dimensional forces. The religious organizations will continue to have their share more or less constant; rather it is getting stronger these days. The army will have direct or indirect influence in the rule of Sri Lanka. Pakistan is a good example in the same region in the Indian subcontinent, although the nature of politics, ethnicity and geographical conditions are different, there is strong possibility in the role of the forces in influencing the government whether elected by the voters or not. In Pakistan the forces have a very strong hold in the government; if the politicians do not play their cards well, they may be pushed down. During the last three decades the politicians were able to portray the war and mobilized the immediate attention of the masses towards defending their nation from the armed struggle by the Tamils. The masses had no other choice other than to put back their domestic problems such as mass unemployment, increased prices of goods and services, sky rocketing inflation, domestic violence, corruption, deteriorating social amenities, lack of proper medical care and educational facilities and broken promises. Wars have a way of distracting people from their everyday concerns. Now the government proudly claims that the major part of the war is over and engaged the masses in the celebration of their glory. Praise for the leader and his popularity has gone up very high but how long is it going deviate from the actual critical situation where the masses have been suffering and no sufficient relief measures have been taken. In time, the masses will no longer be able to contain their frustration. The Marxists also wait for the worst economic situation and consider the time ripe and the masses will be ready for any revolutionary changes to overcome their suffering. So far they have tried to give their mandate to the two big political parties with the high hope of finding drastic solutions for their pressing problems because none of them had given any tangible solutions. The Marxists know very well that when the masses are some what economically able to survive, they will not push for an overhaul of the economy or any revolutionary change in the system of government. Two main potentially growing super powers have all of a sudden shown a very high concern and interest in Sri Lankan affairs. The elephant and the dragon (India and China to be exact) shed crocodile tears and won the heart of the Sri Lankan government. They are competing against each other and aim to under cut the speedy progress through a cold war. The small nations around them such as Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh have been getting help in terms of financial, military aids, donations and skilled personalities in constructive and destructive fields. The elephant and the dragon have their battles in the grass lands of these small nations. One of them may aim to have control on Sri Lanka as the former Soviet Union had in Cuba, a small island south of United States of America. At this stage it may look good for these nations but in the long run, they will be brought into their indirect control and they will be controlled through economic domination and interdependency If the rights of the minority are suppressed any longer it will be a disaster in the future. The late Colvin de Silva, one of the veteran politicians once predicted that one language will lead to two nations. It is a very sensible saying and not an outdated comment. It does not confine the language but rather goes beyond to include the entire minority rights. Tamils claim they are the majority in their traditional homeland which is the eastern and Northern parts of Sri Lanka, whereas the government of Sri Lanka cleverly says that every part of the country belongs to everyone of the Sri Lankans. In words, it appears very compassionate but in the real sense the Tamils strongly feels that they are deceived. I do not know whether or not they sacrifice their rights for privileges. I have my doubts that the current political moves, the trends, the directions, and maneuvers will solve Sri Lanka’s problems. The war took 30 years; it may take another 30 years to heal. Samy Appadurai is a renowned broadcast journalist, author, educator and public speaker who makes his home in Toronto.